September 24, 2014Elephant Poaching in Africa: A Major Crises for Survival of the Species and Support for the Funding of TerrorismAccording to National Geographic, poachers in Africa have killed over 100,000 elephants in the last three years alone. And over the past decade, there has been a dramatic reduction of elephant populations in central Africa to the tune of 64 percent. These numbers are startling to say the least. Without drastic changes to resolve this travesty, the African elephant will soon be well on its way toward extinction. So what could possibly motivate the illegal killing of such magnificent animals in the first instance? The answer lies in the sky-rocketing prices that ivory from elephant tusks commands on the black market which in Asia (especially in China) can run as high as $3,000 a kilo. And African poachers will risk much to earn a premium in order to satisfy the insatiable appetite for ivory in Asia and in the black markets of some western countries as well. The latest estimates claim that approximately four elephants are killed every hour through poaching for ivory. And although many of the poor locals are hired to carry out the poaching, it is now clear that organized syndicates and militias (in some cases international) are the ones really backing this business. Recently, a very prominent American animal advocacy called 'Born Free USA' published a commissioned study that assessed terrorist related activity associated with the illegal poaching of elephant tusks in various countries across Africa. The results were alarming to say the least. Their report entitled,'Ivory's Curse: The Militarization and Professionalization of Poaching in Africa' showed clear evidence that a shift has occurred in recent years whereby poaching is now backed to a large extent by militant extremist groups who are funding their terrorist activities with proceeds from the illegal ivory trade. The following are some of the key points quoted from their report:

As poaching reaches levels that threaten to render African elephants near-totally extinct within the next ten years

A single elephant yields 10 kg of ivory worth approximately $30,000;

A conservative estimate is that 23,000 elephants were killed in 2013. With the true figure likely much higher, the ivory trade could be worth as much as a billion dollars annually, and will likely increase with the escalating retail price of ivory.

From Sudan, government-allied militias complicit in the Darfur genocide fund their operations by poaching elephants hundreds of miles outside North Sudan’s borders.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, state security forces patronize the very rebels they are supposed to fight, providing weapons and support in exchange for ivory. Zimbabwean political elites, including those under international sanction, are seizing wildlife spaces that either are, or likely will soon be, used as covers for poaching operations.

In East Africa, al-Shabaab and Somali criminal networks are profiting off Kenyan elephants killed by poachers using weapons leaked from local security forces.

Mozambican organized crime has militarized and consolidated to the extent it is willing to battle the South African army and well-trained ranger forces for rhino horns.

In Gabon and the Republic of Congo, ill-regulated forest exploitation is bringing East Asian migrant laborers, and East Asian organized crime, into contact with Central Africa’s last elephants.

In Tanzania, political elites have aided the industrial-scale depletion of East Africa’s largest elephant population.

With all this in mind, it is now clear that by wearing or using ivory for any purpose, one is supporting the killing of both animals and humans. How can anyone in today's world in good conscience turn a blind eye to such treachery? Certainly this is a trade the world can and should do without.